What is Alcoholism?

Alcoholism is a real illness that people battle everyday. More than 7% of all Americans, inclusive of young adults, suffer from a alcohol addiction, this is nearly 14 million Americans! These individuals make alcohol one of the main priorities in their life and endanger their health, relationships among many other things. Serious health risks can occur from untreated alcoholism such as liver damage from alcohol abuse.

How Alcohol Works

Alcohol is a drug and is considered a depressant, this means, if more is consumed than the body can handle it shows down certain vital functions within your brain which causes slurred speech, inability to have sound judgment and react quickly as well as unsteady movement and blurred vision.

The effects that alcohol has on its abuser is completely dependent on the amount that they consume. Most people drink for a stimulant effect meaning, they need just enough to feel tipsy but not full blown drunk, this use is also called social drinking.

Alcohol Contents

As any other drugs, alcohol comes in different kinds. Ethanol or ethyl alcohol is the one that is used in alcohol drinks and is created by fermenting fruits and grains.This process is done by having yeast act on certain ingredients in food to create alcohol.

Drinks such as beer and wine contain as little as 2% up to 20% of alcohol however, distilled liquor contain up to 40% more alcohol.

Here is something to assist you in knowing just how much alcohol you are really consuming

Beer 2–6% alcohol

Cider 4–8% alcohol

Wine 8–20% alcohol

Tequila 40% alcohol

Rum 40% or more alcohol

Brandy 40% or more alcohol

Gin 40–47% alcohol

Whiskey 40–50% alcohol

Vodka 40–50% alcohol

Liqueurs (creamy alcoholic beverages) 15–60% alcohol

Warning Signs of Alcohol Abuse

What are the warning signs of alcohol abuse?

Alcohol dependence is when alcohol starts to take over your life and you believe that unless you are under the influence, you won’t be able to perform simple tasks such as your daily routines properly. The 4 stages of alcoholism includes;

Cravings – strong urge to drink no matter the circumstance

Control loss – inability to limit yourself to just one drink

Physical dependency – The experience of withdrawal such as nausea, anxiety, shakiness and many other symptoms, this starts to occur when the alcohol content in your body begins to wear out. This can be very dangerous for the alcoholic as dependence can lead to fatal withdrawal symptoms including hallucinations and extreme agitations etc, this can start as soon as 8 hours after your last drink.

Tolerance: the strong need to drink large amounts of alcohol in order to maintain the “high” feel that it gives to them.

Seeking Help

The key symptom of alcohol abuse is the inability to stop drinking or contain yourself from having too many drinks, as well as mixing alcohol with you every meal, for example, putting alcohol in your coffee or mixing it with medication. Persons like this typically feel like it isn’t possible for them to ever become sober.

If you or your loved one has an alcohol addiction, professional intervention for alcohol abuse is the best way to go, this is one the first steps in your road to recovery and the main idea of your interventionist is to help you realize that alcohol is a major problem in your life and help you to assess the problem and lead you in the path of a clean and sober lifestyle.

Withdrawal symptom may occur when your body still isn’t used to having this toxic substance not present anymore and this may lead to a relapse, no worries, our intervention programs will ensure that this does not happen to you.